(*Disclosure: I’m a PR professional in real life, and have a master’s in public communication — so I have a vested interest in changing perceptions and building relationships — two basic tenets of good PR).

Are you your own best PR person?

Are you putting your best image, er, foot forward every day, or are you still hung up on your looks, imperfections, and short-comings?

This was one of the topics of the keynote yesterday by journalist, writer and blogger Penelope Trunk at the Public Relations Society of America conference I am attending here in Detroit.

Her argument was that, when it comes to women and their careers (she authored a book called The Brazen Careerist and writes a blog under the same premise), all too often, women are not being their own best PR person, even though they are most qualified to do so.

Women today have the power to carve their own path, regardless of the state of the economy or if they’ve been out of the working world for a while, she says. We can be our own biggest PR flaks.

Penelope contends that we ought to be out there pitching ourselves (our authentic “brand”, what makes us unique and desirable) like mad … because jobs don’t last forever, career tracks change, but we’re still “us,” and we’re worth investing a little time to polish the image we portray to the world.

We don’t need to be perfect by any means (something I’m coming to terms with). But like it or not, perceptions matter.

If you’re perceived at a job interview, for example, as confident and firm, people will think you are. It essentially becomes your reality.

On the flip side, if you walk into a room with your eyes down and are constantly touching your hair or fidgeting, people will see you as insecure. That becomes your “reality,” because that’s the image you’re portraying.

Be honest. When is the last time you stood in front of the mirror and raved –seriously raved — about your appearance?

For me, it was my wedding day two years ago.

I’d never felt so beautiful in my waist-accentuated, fitted gown, all dolled up and ready to walk down the aisle to begin a future with the man I love …

And, feeling so beatiful, I radiated all day.

I don’t think I’m an exception here; it’s my hope that every bride feels gorgeous on her wedding day.

But aside from special occasions like that, if you’re like many women who suffer from body dysmorphia or negative body image, you probably don’t spend a lot of time preening at your own reflection.

It’s bad enough when we bash our own bodies, but now more than ever — especially thanks to the proliferation of celebrity-focused magazines and gossip blogs on the Web — women are bashing other women, too. It’s called “body snarking” and it’s getting ugly. Continue reading “Banning Body-Snarking”→